Now that you have your topic and thesis statement for your final research paper, you may be thinking, "Where do I go from here?" How do I search for resources on my topic to write the paper?
Before we search for resources, we are going to use brainstorming as a strategy to figure out search terms to use. Uuse the words that you generate in this activity to search for resources later in information literacy research activity.
It is often a multi-part process to find the best words to use and searching takes some trial and error. Why is this? Well, because different databases may use different words to describe a topic or subject. This is called controlled vocabulary.
For example, one article may use the word female, but others may use the terms, "women" or "girl". By brainstorming a list of search terms, you will cast a wider net when searching for materials available on your topic.
Outcomes: By the end of this assignment you will be able to:
• Identify the key concepts and main ideas that make up your research topic
• List keywords, synonyms and related terms for your research topic
• Understand controlled vocabulary specific to the discipline or information retrieval source
Activity: Follow the steps below to brainstorm a list of search terms:
1. Write out your working thesis statement and underline the main ideas in it. For example: There are many factors that contributed to the American Civil War, but slavery was the primary cause.
2. Then, create a list of related keywords and phrases from the main ideas that you circled/underlined. Think of additional search terms that also describe each of the main ideas, including synonyms. For example, "War Between the States" is another phrase for the "Civil War." Impetus and motivation are synonyms for "cause." Add any ideas you have to your list, even the ones that may seem off the wall; sometimes they end up being the most helpful.